Chapter 19
He rose in a red dawn, made coffee and put the last bannock in the toaster, trying not to recall his dreams of burning heads and heather.
He was buttering the bannock when a text arrived. Dreading what it might be about at this early hour, he checked the screen to find it was from Rory.
Should be with you by five. I’ll cook. R x
His initial pleasure at this message was swiftly replaced by regret that he hadn’t sent a warning that their weekend dive together was no longer possible. He decided that he would have to forewarn Rory now, but before he got the chance, another text arrived.
I know about the body at Lyrawa. And I need to talk to you about something which may or may not be linked. R x
Erling stared at this for a moment. News travelled fast here, so the first part of the message wasn’t surprising, in particular if Rory was no longer offshore, but on Flotta. It was the second part of the message that gave him pause for thought.
He answered, indicating how much Rory had been missed. Adding a hopeful See you soon x.
A short shower later, he was dressed and ready to leave for work, where he planned to have a strategy meeting regarding the discovery of the body at Lyrawa Bay.
He also needed to call Dr Stewart, now retired and living on Rousay, about Ivor Mowat’s death, plus Eddie Balfour with respect to this morning’s reading of the will.
Then there was the box that Ivor had left at St Magnus House, now at the police station, whose contents might throw some light on what Ivor had been thinking prior to his sudden death.
The morning was blustery, with swiftly moving clouds crossing a blue sky. Crowning the hill at Scorradale, the view of a rough-topped Scapa Flow and the outline of Hoy was crystal clear.
Joining the main road, he noted the Hoy ferry leaving Houton, and recalled last night’s decision to check on Magnus and the Mowat family tree. Yet another thing to add to today’s list.
His first port of call was the Balfour mortuary, where he handed over the evidence bags containing the items Rachael had given him and where Hannah confirmed that the chopper was due to arrive in the early afternoon to transport both the remains and evidence to the city mortuary in Glasgow.
‘How long is Kris Mowat’s girlfriend here for?’ Hannah asked.
‘She’s only at the Stromness Hotel until Tuesday,’ Erling told her.
‘We may not have the DNA results back by then,’ Hannah warned.
‘I know. If she wants to wait here until we know for certain whether it is Kris, we’ll help her with somewhere else to stay.’
‘Well, let’s hope Kris turns up at the will reading this morning,’ Hannah offered.
The possibility of that sounded like a miracle to Erling, and judging by Hannah’s expression, she was thinking the same way.
He now made for the police station, where the car park was relatively empty, indicating that the day shift was yet to officially begin. Finding PC Tulloch on the front desk, he asked how the night had gone.
‘Quiet, sir, although now that we’re heading into the weekend . . .’ he said, with a concerned look.
‘Have I forgotten an event, Constable?’ Erling said.
‘No event, sir, just the usual Friday-night clubbers in Kirkwall.’ When Erling nodded, Tulloch added, ‘DS Green’s here already, sir.’
So Jo had beat him to it. He wondered if his sergeant had managed any sleep at all, after yesterday’s developments.
He found Jo at the coffee machine, looking surprisingly bright.
‘You’re in early,’ he said, joining her there.
‘Thought we would have a lot to talk about,’ she said.
‘We do,’ Erling confirmed, pouring himself a coffee. ‘Let’s take these to my office.’
He began with what he knew Jo would be most concerned about. His meeting with Rachael.
She listened intently as he described what he’d learned from viewing the remains at the mortuary. Then he explained what he’d told Rachael and why.
‘She was getting hopeful it wasn’t Kris?’ Jo said.
‘A little too hopeful,’ he told her. ‘So I didn’t mention the remains of the leather bracelet.’
Jo nodded. ‘I thought the ring on the index finger was more significant and it definitely wasn’t there?’ she checked.
‘It wasn’t, according to Hannah,’ he confirmed. ‘So we’ll have to wait for the DNA results. Unless, of course, Kris turns up for the reading at eleven o’clock.’
‘If Kris is alive, he would surely have contacted Rachael by now rather than leave her worrying like this?’ Jo said.
‘We only have Rachael’s word on Kris’s character and why he might have chosen to go into hiding,’ Erling offered. ‘Maybe he decided to leave Orkney altogether after she told him she was considering aborting his child.’
‘But his last sighting was on Hoy,’ Jo countered. ‘Although it was only the female in the group who said she’d seen him.’
‘And we have no further sightings after that,’ Erling agreed.
‘Which brings us back to the body on the beach, which may in fact turn out to be Kris. Even if it isn’t, we still have a case of either murder or suicide by fire to deal with.
So can you make sure everyone heads up to the meeting room as soon as they arrive this morning? ’
When Jo indicated she would, he added, ‘I need to make a couple of calls, then I’ll join you. Start things off by showing the team the photos and video Willie sent us. They need to see what we’re dealing with.’
‘And the will reading at eleven?’ Jo asked.
‘That’s the first call I plan to make,’ Erling told her.
He waited until his sergeant had left, then considered what he wanted to say to Eddie, who would already be aware of the discovery of a body at Lyrawa.
Also, as a lawyer, Eddie could be trusted with information regarding the state of the body and the difficulties that had produced for identification.
Eddie answered his call almost immediately. ‘Erling. Please tell me the body on the beach isn’t Kris Mowat?’
‘We haven’t established the identity of the victim as yet,’ Erling told him. ‘Primarily because of the state of the body. It was badly burnt, as you’ve probably heard.’
‘I was hoping that aspect was just a rumour.’
‘Sadly, no,’ Erling said.
‘So Kris could still turn up here at eleven?’ Eddie said in a half hopeful voice.
‘Yes. Who else do you expect to be there?’
‘Definitely Hugh. Ivor’s other sons, Albert, Harald and Cameron. Maybe their wives too. Even their offspring. In truth, it’s open house for the Mowat clan, so who knows?’ He sounded apprehensive.
‘Do you know if Kris’s mother is still alive?’ Erling asked.
‘I have no contact details for Betty,’ Eddie said. ‘And neither, it seems, does Hugh, because I’ve asked him.’
‘And you have no idea who Kris’s father is or was?’ Erling said.
‘A taboo subject among family members, it seems. So none whatsoever,’ Eddie confirmed.
‘There’s something else you should know,’ Erling said. ‘Hugh has informed me that the family plan to dispute the sale of land at Lyrawa. He maintains his father wasn’t of sound mind when he did that. Plus he’s accused St Magnus House of negligence regarding Ivor’s death.’
‘Good God,’ Eddie said. ‘This reading could turn into a rammy, whether or not Kris shows up. I don’t suppose you’d consider having a constable attend, just in case?’
‘I intend on being there myself,’ Erling told him.
The relief in Eddie’s voice was obvious. ‘I really appreciate that, Erling. Thank you.’
Dr Stewart was also swift to answer his call.
Erling had known Ian Stewart all his life, through childhood illnesses and teenage angst. As their family doctor, he’d attended his mother throughout her illness, and dealt with the practicalities of her death five years ago.
He’d also worked out that the rebellious teenager of the family was gay before Erling would admit it even to himself.
‘I’ve been expecting your call,’ the familiar Orcadian voice said. ‘Cathy and Elspeth from the care home have already been in touch. Plus news, as you know, travels fast round these islands.’
Acknowledging this, Erling said, ‘What can you tell me about Ivor Mowat?’
‘That he was a stubborn, opinionated man, who didn’t mellow with age.
He checked himself into that home to get away from his family, despite the fact he could have managed perfectly well at home on Hoy, with maybe a home help a couple of days a week.
Anyway, he loved it at St Magnus House, and he especially loved that wild tomcat who became his friend. ’
‘And his health?’ Erling said.
‘Good, in fact better than many folk much younger.’
‘So why did he die so suddenly?’
‘I don’t know. Except that he was very old. If you want to know the exact reason, you would need to have a post-mortem.’
‘Dr Liddell put down cardiovascular degeneration on the form,’ Erling told him.
‘Aye, he would do that. Unless there was any reason to think otherwise.’
Erling explained about Hugh Mowat’s intentions regarding the sale of the land on Hoy and his criticism of the care home.
‘All nonsense,’ came the blunt reply. ‘Ivor had all his mental faculties. He occasionally forgot a name, but he had ninety years’ worth of names and family connections in that wily brain of his,’ he said firmly. ‘As for his care at St Magnus House, I’d vouch for that one hundred per cent.’
When Erling thanked him, he added, ‘And just get in touch when or if you need me to testify to any of this.’
Ringing off, Erling made his way upstairs to where the team had gathered. Jo had done as asked, with Willie’s photographs on display beside the still-rolling video. Judging by the facial expressions of his team, they were as shocked by what they were observing as he’d been himself.
‘So,’ he began, ‘we have a suspicious death to investigate. The victim may have attempted suicide by fire, or he may have been set on fire by another party or parties. I believe the post-mortem will provide us with more clarity on that.’
He described his visit to the mortuary. ‘As you can see from Willie Halcro’s recording of the scene, identification with respect to the possibility of it being our missing Kris Mowat wasn’t possible.
So DNA evidence from items belonging to Kris will head down to Glasgow with the body later today for comparison.
’ He paused there before asking if there had been any reported sightings of Kris or the hired car in the interim.
The answer was as he’d expected. Scattered sightings of Kris across Mainland, which when followed up had proven to be someone else entirely. As for the vehicle, it seemed to have vanished, which didn’t please the rental company.
The talk then moved on to other issues currently being dealt with, which consisted mainly of drunk-driving incidents and minor assaults. Then the upcoming cases in Kirkwall Sheriff Court, which would involve some of his officers having to give evidence, further depleting the team.
At this point, Erling inwardly decided to request help from Highland Division with respect to what he was certain would turn out to be a murder investigation.
Without voicing this, he addressed the final topic, which had been raised with him recently by the street pastor.
‘Leo Strachan is convinced that a supply of stronger drugs is finding its way into Orkney, based on his observations of the weekend clubbers. How and where they’re entering or who is supplying them, he couldn’t say.
Bearing this in mind and with the weekend upon us, I believe we require a bigger presence out on the streets of Kirkwall for the next couple of nights. ’
There were some groans at this, although eventually a few hands went up. Erling asked DS Green to finish up here and took himself down to his office to make the next set of necessary calls.
His first was to Willie Halcro. Having decided that they required a temporary police presence on Hoy, he wanted to ask for Willie’s aid in setting that up.
Considering their last sighting of Kris had been there, and now the discovery of the body, Hoy appeared to be at the centre of the investigation, for the moment anyway.
They settled on a location for interviews to be taken by himself and DS Green with PC Tulloch, who was great with the locals here and, Erling suspected, on every other island in the archipelago.
That organized, he made his call to the Scottish mainland and, having explained his dilemma, was rewarded with the promise of a DS to aid in their enquiry. The supporting officer would be on the ferry to Stromness first thing tomorrow morning.
Conscious now of the time, Erling resolved to explain his plans to both DS Green and PC Tulloch on his return from the reading of the will.
But before he left, he went by the evidence store and, booking out Ivor’s box, took it with him.